ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION
The mood was calm in Manama on the morning of the first day of the Bahrain Grand Prix, as residents went about their day and attended Friday prayers.
However the city was under tight security, with dozens of armoured vehicles stationed around the capital and the road to the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.
The government, hoping for a successful race, squared off against activists determined to mark it with "days of rage" after more than a year of Arab Spring protests.
Unrest forced the cancellation of last year's Grand Prix, and the 2012 race has been in doubt as Bahrain's human rights record has come under fire from abroad.
On the eve of Friday's practice session, protests had flared in villages surrounding the capital, far from the circuit where the race will be held. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse demonstrators in clashes that have been building in the week leading to Sunday's round of the World Championship.
Bahrain has been in turmoil since a democracy movement erupted last year following uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Protests were initially crushed with the loss of dozens of lives, but youths still clash daily with riot police in Shi'ite Muslim districts, and thousands take part in opposition rallies.
